https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2021.9827

Effects after the lockdown on emergency room admissions for psychiatric evaluation: An observational study from the province of Forlì-Cesena, Italy

Vol. 17 No. 3 (2021)
Submitted: 23 April 2021
Accepted: 16 August 2021
Published: 21 September 2021
Pandemic, follow-up, outbreak, COVID-19, mental health
Abstract Views: 517
PDF: 220
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Authors

Massimiliano Beghi
massibeghi@libero.it
Department of Mental Health and Pathological Dependencies, AUSL Romagna, Cesena, Italy.
Riccardo Brandolini
Department of Mental Health and Pathological Dependencies, AUSL Romagna, Rimini, Italy.
Laura Biondi
Department of Mental Health and Pathological Dependencies, AUSL Romagna, Ravenna; Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences, Psychiatry Unit, Alma Mater Studiorum, Bologna, Italy.
Claudia Corsini
Department of Mental Health and Pathological Dependencies, AUSL Romagna, Ravenna, Italy.
Carlo Fraticelli
Department of Mental Health and Addictions, ASST Lariana, Como, Italy.
Rosa Sant'Angelo
Department of Mental Health and Pathological Dependencies, AUSL Romagna, Cesena, Italy.
Giovanni De Paoli
Department of Mental Health and Pathological Dependencies, AUSL Romagna, Cesena, Italy.

The aim was to study the number of accesses to the Emergency Room (ER) requiring psychiatric evaluation in the four months following the lockdown period for the COVID-19 outbreak (May 4th, 2020-August 31th, 2020). The study is a retrospective longitudinal observational study of the ER admissions of the Hospitals of Cesena and Forlì (Emilia Romagna region) leading to psychiatric assessment. Sociodemographic variables, history for medical comorbidities or psychiatric disorders, reason for ER admission, psychiatric diagnosis at discharge and measures taken by the psychiatrist were collected. An increase of 9.4% of psychiatric assessments was observed. The difference was more pronounced in the first two months after lockdown, with a 21.7% increase of number of ER accesses, while after two months numbers were the same as those of the year before. Admission with anxiety symptoms and history of psychiatric disorder decreased significantly. Moreover, there is an age trend with an increasing age of admission.

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How to Cite

Beghi, M., Brandolini, R., Biondi, L., Corsini, C., Fraticelli, C., Sant’Angelo, R., & De Paoli, G. (2021). Effects after the lockdown on emergency room admissions for psychiatric evaluation: An observational study from the province of Forlì-Cesena, Italy. Emergency Care Journal, 17(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2021.9827

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